Jonesboro, AR – JonesboroRightNow.com – The rodeo is coming back to town for one weekend at the First National Bank Arena located at 217 Olympic Drive.

Tickets are now on sale for the First Choice Farm and Lawn Championship Rodeo presented by Big River Steel. The rodeo will be in Jonesboro on April 24 and 25.

“Doors will open at 6 p.m., the rodeo starts at 7 p.m., and it will run between two to three hours,” said Ashley Bauer, sponsorship and public relations with Generations Pro Rodeo Production Crew.

Prices range from $25 to $45 and can be purchased at TicketMaster.com or the First National Bank Arena Box Office.

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This is a Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) and Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) sanctioned event and is hosted by Generations Pro Rodeo, Inc. as part of the southeastern circuit of the rodeo. The event is sponsored by First Choice Farm & Lawn and presented by Big River Steel, among other sponsors.

This will be the fourth year the rodeo has come to town. However, 2026 is a year of some firsts for the rodeo in Jonesboro. “It’s only been one day in previous years,” said Bauer. “This is the first year that we’ve moved it to a full, two-day PRCA WPRA-sanctioned rodeo.”

She added they want to give people two options for when they can come see the rodeo. “Although in a perfect world, people will join us for both nights because each night is a little different,” she said.

Another first, “Big John,” a 2,000-pound Brahma bull, will make an appearance at locations around Jonesboro.

“Big John will be in two different places on Saturday, April 25th. The first appearance he’ll be at will be at Hijinx from 10 a.m. to noon; they’re our scholarship sponsor this year,” Bauer said.

Bauer went on to explain that Hijinx had an FFA (Future Farmers of America) chapter contest. In that contest, the Concord FFA Chapter won a $1,500 scholarship, compliments of Hijinx.

“We’re going to have all of our rodeo crew there, we’ll have Big John there, invite the community to come out, play some games, have some fun, and meet our team,” she said.

Then, around 1 p.m., Big John will appear in Downtown Jonesboro at the Oasis Arts & Eats Festival.

“He’ll probably make a trip up and down the street just to kind of see everything and everyone, give people a chance to take photos and meet a real, live big bull. You just don’t get that opportunity anywhere else,” Bauer added.

| READ MORE: Oasis Arts and Eats Fest set for April in downtown Jonesboro

“We’re excited to be a part of the festival and get people to see a different part of rodeo that you don’t normally get to see,” she said. “And, of course, we’re not bringing a crazy bucking bull downtown. We’re bringing a big Brahman bull that you lead around. He’s friendly and really tame. It still just gives you a little bit of insight into what rodeo truly is and lets you get up close and personal and, like I said, meet our team, ask questions that maybe you wouldn’t get a chance to otherwise. We’re excited for it and looking forward to it very much.”

For the rodeo itself, the following events will be included:

• Bareback riding is a form of horseback riding without a saddle. It requires skill, balance, and coordination.
• Steer wrestling, also called “bulldogging,” is a mounted cowboy chasing a steer, jumping from his horse, and using leverage to throw the animal to the ground as quickly as possible.
• Team roping is a fast-paced event that involves a “header” who ropes a steer’s head/horns and a “heeler, who ropes both hind legs.
• Saddle bronc riding is a classic rodeo event; a rider must stay on a bucking horse for eight seconds with one hand on a rein.
• Breakaway roping is a timed rodeo event where a mounted rider ropes a calf around the neck. The rope is attached to a saddle horn with a string. When the calf pulls the rope taut, the string breaks, stopping the timer.
• Tie-Down roping, also called calf roping, is a mounted event in which a cowboy ropes a calf, dismounts, and ties three of its legs together in under 10 to 12 seconds.
• Barrel racing is where a horse and rider attempt to run around preset barrels in the fastest time.
• Bull riding, another classic rodeo event, requires riders to stay mounted for eight seconds on a 2,000-pound bull using only a single-handed grip.

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